ACL Fest releases full 2022 schedule, and it's time for tough choices

Kelsey Bradshaw and Deborah Sengupta Stith, Austin American-Statesman
·3 min read

Now you can really kick your Austin City Limits Music Festival planning into high gear — time slots for each day of the fest were released on Thursday.

ACL Fest runs Oct. 7-9 and Oct. 14-16 in Zilker Park. The Chicks will get two hours on Friday for both weekends, and P!nk will get 90 minutes on Saturday both weekends. The Red Hot Chili Peppers will close out both Sundays of the festival with two-hour sets. All three of those acts will play the big American Express stage.

Over on the Honda stage across Zilker Park, SZA takes top billing on Friday, followed by Flume on Saturday and Kacey Musgraves on Sunday.

Friday's breakdown has a clear choose-your-own-adventure feel. Beginning at 4 p.m., there's an excellent run of vibey R&B and soulful pop that kicks off with "Heaux Tales" auteur Jazmine Sullivan on the Honda stage, followed by British pop artist Arlo Parks on the adjacent Miller Lite stage at 5 p.m., James Blake on the Honda stage at 6 p.m. and Omar Apollo on the Miller Lite stage at 7 p.m. before SZA's 8 p.m. closing set.

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Those of us who were bemoaning a dearth of hip-hop artists on this year's lineup are happy to see that OutKast emcee Big Boi has been added to the lineup. We are less pleased to note that his 6:15 p.m. Saturday set (Weekend 1) on the Honda stage puts him up against Lil Nas X, one of just a handful of big hip-hop acts who were already on the bill, on the American Express stage. On Weekend 2, the "Industry Baby" star goes up against emo band Death Cab For Cutie instead.

Fest-goers who prefer a little twang in their ACL experience can head over to the other side of the park for a Friday evening roots music block that includes Zach Bryan on the American Express stage at 4 p.m., followed by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats at 6 p.m. on that stage and Billy Strings on the T-Mobile stage at 7 p.m., before the Chicks take us home on the big stage at 8 p.m.

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This year's dance music offerings are lighter than some recent years, but fans of heavy bass will probably appreciate the Diplo-to-Flume block on the Miller Lite and Honda stages on Saturday night. The other side of the park clusters indie rockers the War on Drugs on the T-Mobile stage at 7 p.m., between Lil Nas X and Pink on the big stage.

Sunday offerings seem less blocked by genre, although we suspect there will be little to no overlap between the fans of '90s bro-rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers and folks who love the expressive songwriting of Kacey Musgraves.

Three-day tickets to the festival are technically sold out, but drop by the ACL Fest verified resale market, where you can scoop passes that start at $305. One-day tickets for every day except Saturday of Weekend 1 are still available for $145.

The full 2022 schedule can be found at aclfestival.com.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin City Limits Music Festival 2022: Schedule, ticket info released